Dr. Shannon Edwards | Forensic Psychologist

I did not know better then. Now that I know better, I am better.Maya Angelou

Dr. Shannon Edwards

Clinical Experience

Dr. Shannon Edwards is a Clinical Forensic Psychologist in Pittsburgh. She has extensive forensic and clinical experience working with juveniles, adults, and families. Unique to Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area, are her eight years of academic training in Clinical Forensic Psychology, which involved rigorous law and psychology specialty coursework. Dr. Edwards’ academic foundation and applied training provided her necessary ethical and clinical tools, allowing her to competently practice the specialization of law and psychology’s intersection.

Dr. Edwards’ evaluative experience includes providing parental capacity, child custody, and general mental health evaluations for Family and Juvenile Court; provision of wrongful death, immigration, and personal injury evaluations for Civil Court; and delivering a broad range of evaluations for Criminal Court including competency to stand trial evaluations, criminal responsibility evaluations, mitigating circumstance evaluations, juvenile life without parole evaluations, sexual offender evaluations, and general psychological evaluations. She is available for retention in jury consultation and selection, having provided those services to adjudication and sentencing Courts.

Dr. Edwards provides co-parenting therapy, reunification therapy, supervised visitation, and other court-involved therapy for Family Court. She provides expert testimony to Family Court, regarding the aforementioned individuals’ progress, serving the best interest of the child. Dr. Edwards has conducted individual and group therapy involving individuals diagnosed with serious mental illnesses (SMI), provided evaluation and treatment to individuals mandated to a state hospital forensic unit, and served as the Director of Mental Health at the Allegheny County Jail.

Focus

Until recently, Dr. Edwards was the only licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania with eight years of foundational academic training in forensic psychology. As such, she opened a private practice in downtown Pittsburgh to serve the local community and beyond. However, she emphatically announces her best friend from graduate school, Dr. Lindsey Wilner, has opened her own forensic private practice in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (http://www.drlindseywilner.com). Having been academically trained in law and psychology, they are both able to competently provide psycho-legal services to Pennsylvanians.

Dr. Edwards has provided expert services to other counties within the Commonwealth including Butler, Erie, Lancaster, Mercer,Westmoreland, and Washington counties. Dr. Edwards has been qualified as an expert in Pennsylvania and Illinois courts.

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Serving Our Clients

Of particular interest to Dr. Edwards, is the purpose and need of social advocacy as it relates to serious mental illness and mentally ill individuals involved with our justice system. She maintains national, active involvement with the American Psychological Association, including membership to Division 41 (American Psychological – Law Society) and the APA Practice Organization (APAPO), which is the APA’s organizational legislative arm. Regionally, she maintains associate membership in the Women’s Bar Association, was a previous Board member for the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association, as well as maintaining her membership within their organization.